How do you say something belongs to you, or someone else, in Thai? It’s actually very simple when using the word ของ (kawng5), meaning ‘belongs to’.

The proper grammar order is:

noun -> belongs to -> noun

For example,

บ้าน นี้ -> ของ -> เขา  – This house belongs to him.

In many instances it’s obvious so you can leave out ของ, for example,

บ้านเขา – His house.

where the first noun is owned by the second noun.

A few more examples:

บ้านนี้ของใครครับ? Whose house is this?

ของเขาครับ It is his house.

บ้านของผม It is my house.

ของโลก of (or belongs to) the world

Now, the word ของ has one other meaning  – belongings, stuff, things, possessions. Here are a few examples so you don’t get the two meanings confused.

ทิ้งของนี้ให้หน่อยครับ Please throw away this stuff.

เก็บของ Gather (or pick/clean up) the things.

ของนี้สกปรกมาก This stuff is very dirty.

ชอบของแปลก I like strange things.

One more example, as this can trip some people up. This is a seemingly ambiguous statement, but in reality means the same thing no matter which ของ definition you use:

นี่ของใคร – Whose stuff is this? (or) Who does this belong to?